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Some of the advantages to using a campground that already has everything set is that it saves LOTS of time and also saves money. Of course, if you want to plan a retreat or camp all by yourself, you are going to need to spend hours upon hours. However, if everything is already taken care of, you can spend your time on other things, such as preparing your teens for the week/weekend.
ReplyDeleteCampgrounds that prepare everything usually are able to make it less expensive than you would be able to, since they do the same things over and over and also have multiple groups use their services. This can definitely come in handy.
The biggest disadvantage I can think of is that you wouldn't really have much control over what your teens did. Of course, you could spend time with them discussing the activities they've participated in, but other than that, the camp or retreat is pretty much out of your hands.
I don't know which way I would prefer. I've been to both kinds of camps before. One of the camps is very small and our churches provided the director, counselors, etc. We campers had a good bit of free time and we also had to partake in chores after every meal, partly because it was good for us and partly because there weren't enough adults to take care of it all.
I've also been to a couple of pretty big camps. Several different youth groups were there at the same time, which was pretty cool for me. Our activities, games, even small group times, were all controlled by the camp. During our free time, we could hang out with just our youth group and youth leaders, and every night we would have sort of a debriefing session, but that was it.
I guess you could also relate this to our retreat assignment in class. The "youth people" have to plan everything but they have so much freedom and control while the "children people" are going on a retreat where basically everything is already planned out for us.
Here are my questions for discussion:
What do you think is the wisest way to go? Already plannedness or sweet freedom and lots of stress? What has been the most meaningful camp or retreat experience that you have partaken of and which of these categories did it fall under?
I would have to say that it depends on your situation as to which camp you used. If you are doing your own little retreat with your youth group or maybe another you can probably do everything on your own. Now if you were going to do a week long camp that has several youth groups then you might want to have a pre-staffed camp.
ReplyDeleteIt also depends on what your teens/children are going through. If there is something that your teens are dealing with you might want to do it your self. Plus, by doing it yourself you can get people from your chruch to help you and continue any relationships with teens/children back at church/home.
To me the most meaninful was the already prepared camp. What I went to was a mission trip but my youth pastors didn't have to plan it out, they only had to take us there. By doing it this way we were able to spend time with our youth pastors and build relationships with them.
However, I personally would go with the self-prepared b/c I would like the planning part of it... odd yes, but what can you do?
The advantage of having the Camp do all the work is that they do this all the time and will be spending more money on setting up the camp. this means that food times will be taken care of and most of the activities that are going to be done.
ReplyDeleteThe camp may not give you the point and target that you are trying to reach with your teens.You may have a theme that you need to set up and not the Camp to get the point off to your teens. The Camp needs to support the target message ,but if the Camp does the work you may not reach your target.With using the camp at the one that does the work you would have to conform to the camp ,but the camp does not have to conform to you if you let the camp do all the work.
I personally like the campground to already to be set up. generally you can talk to the directer of the camp and they generally don't have a problem if you want some camp time with just your group and no programs.
ReplyDeleteI believe the biggest asset to a camp ground that already has everything done is communication between the youth directer and the director of the camp! this can work wonders with the camp having everyone on the same page
The biggest advantage of using a camp on a retreat is the facilities that are readily available to you. These can be great to have because it's something that the group usually doesn't get to take full advantage of. I feel that the use of preprogrammed events and ready equipment gives the opportunity for bonding.
ReplyDeleteOn the downside though, if you go to a camp with a lot of different youth groups, the chance of kids moving and bonding with people outside the group is greater. Though making friends is great, this also doesn't really help strengthen the group as a core. Though the main goal should not be to strengthen the group, it should be thought of.
Man i need to start posting earlier because everyone takes all the good things and reasons. I would have to agree with everyone who has posted so far and i really like what Alex said. Even though it is not about the facilities or the places we go that defines us or makes us grow it is those places that are an instrument to help. Campgrounds and things like it, provide many things to help people build relationships. Even something like a volleyball court or a ropes course give people an opportunity to have fun and to learn about eachother and also learn to trust eachother. Stuff like times in the cafeteria and small group sessions help to build community
ReplyDeleteI think that either way can be really successful. Here are the most important things to consider though, as I see them.
ReplyDeleteWhen you have somewhere that plans the meals, activities, etc. you have a LOT more time to spend with the kids. You have room to grow as a group, and you can focus on making sure that the group is having a good time - things like that. Also, you have to consider that it's going to cost more, and there will likely be workers that your teens do not know, and are not comfortable with.
Now, when you're doing it all on your own: You're going to get everything for a lot less money. You don't have to pay as many people, and you only charge the teens for what they need/use. You can plan things the way you want, and make sure that the things you're doing suit your group well. Also, the staff will likely be comprised of people you know, so your teens will already have a connection with them.
Many advantages and disadvantages can be found in this situation. Mostly, they deal with convenience vs. creativity.
ReplyDeleteThe advantages to using a camp that provides you with everything is that you have less work and planning to do. Although this may make a youth leader sound lazy, there is much more to it than that. When a youth leader has less to focus on regarding planning, (s)he can focus more on quality time with the teens and building relationships with them prior to and during the trip. In the way of money, I don't think you are necessarily saving money by going this way. In the experience I have had contacting camps about this youth retreat, paying for activities and (especially) food service can make your cost rise very quickly.
Disadvantages are broad, but all stretched over the area of a lack of personality in the camp/retreat. When everything is planned, the only place that you have control over is the sessions. This can hurt you ultimately when your aim is to tie all the activities into the message.
Finding a camp that offers a variety of activities, but does not necessarily plan them all, is probably the best situation. In this case, you have many options provided by the camp, but you do the choosing to add your own touch to the event. In this case, you are not being overworked, but you can adjust the campgrounds to meet your group's needs and interests.
So, a happy medium may be the best way to go, if it is possible.
To be completely honest I did not read everyone else's responses, so hopefully, I do not repeat what anyone else has said. I personally would pick a already planned camp because they are experts, have a large amount of resources, and experience where they have learned what works and does not work. Already planned camps would usually let you pick somethings, have sometime to plan your own events, or let you help in their planning process. They will probably be willing to work with you and what you would want to do, but add their expertise.
ReplyDeleteThe advantages of using a planned camp vs. designing your own camp from the ground up are that you will need to spend less time planning things such as food and activities. However, as noted by many of those who have commented above me, there may be less room for creativity when using these pre-planned camps.
ReplyDeleteI think that really there is no "better" way to do camps, it just depends on where your own strengths lie and what your goals are for the particular retreat or camp.
Maybe you want to do things at your own pace and you are good at coming up with creative activities for your teens. In that case not using a pre-planned camp may be good.
Maybe you want to concentrate on getting your sermons or lessons planned and do not want to have to worry about food or anything pertaining to free time activities.
I don't think either one is better, it just depends on what you want to accomplish or concentrate on. Just be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each.
I have to agree with what has been said already... I think that having everything all pre planded has its carefree advantages. you are able to focus on the teens and what is going on with them rather than worrying about all the programming.
ReplyDeleteI also think that these types of camps and retreats are generic. My district goes to a camp where the camp takes care of the food and some of the rec. activities, like paintballing, mountain boarding, and a life guard for the pool. everything else our pasotors split up takes care of, such as the silly games and registration, and the speaker. this maybe a bit more time consumming on your part but less time consumming than having to plan the food, and all of the other details.
I agree with all of the above. There are numerous pros and cons of doing this.
ReplyDeleteThe pros are that is saves LOTS of time, planning, and hastle. It's a big stress reliever when you can just sit back and enjoy everything that is going on. It gives you time to focus more directly towards the students rather than the planning.
The cons are that sometimes you just dont know what to expect. It may actually be more nerve wracking for some people because the activities at the camp are unexpected. When you plan everything yourselves, you have more freedom to do what you feel needs to be done. As a youth leader, most likely you will know the students better than anyone, so you will be able to plan the retreat according to how you know the students.
obviously using a preexisting camps resources is that it frees up time to let the pastor get other things done. They will also have more time to be with the youth while the activities take place. the youth pastor doing the planning for themselves allows that youth pastor to plan the specific theme for the youth. They are able to do flexable in the planning if the plans need to change.
ReplyDelete